Budget Hunting Ammo - Federal Power-Shok ??

[Mike1234567]

This may seem like a strange question because I don't hunt and I don't expect to start unless I'm forced to for economic or other reasons.

I've been investing in ammunition for the most common calibers. I won't mention which ones because I don't want this thread to go off on a tangent.

All I want to know is; Is Federal Power-Shok, in the many calibers for which it's available, a decent choice?

I ask this because it's cheap and easily found. I'm not looking for "magic bullets" but, rather, good cheap effective ammo to use/barter/sell should I ever find that need.

ETA: I don't want to reload.

 

[41 Mag]

Well I used the 180gr in .308 on this....



and 150gr both of these, and probably a hundred or so more, from the same rifle,


and this one,


If you put them where they need to go they do just fine. In fact I am always watching for them and the plain ol Remington CL's to be on sale for that particular rifle. They are all I shoot from it and they have dropped every critter I have put them on. Some might go a few yards, but not often. From this particular rifle they shoot as good as anything I can hand load so I don't sweat the hassle. I buy a bunch when I can and go on down the road.

 

[Mike1234567]

Thank you, 41 Mag. It looks like they work well for you.

You mentioned Remington Core-Loct too. I considered those but they're a bit pricier. Due to the many calibers and quantity in which I've been investing, I really needed to keep my costs down.

 

[bpl]

Mike1234567,

The Federal Powershock and Remington Corelokt both work fine for deer, IME. For elk or moose, I'd choose a stouter bullet.

BPL

 

[41 Mag]

For elk or moose, I'd choose a stouter bullet.

What would a stouter bullet provide? Neither of these critters are armor plated, and to my knowledge they have been brought down since this country was settled quite a bit less capable means.

Personally I think people put too much emphasis on things that don't really need it. The elk cow was a through and through shot, as were both the hogs, and I guarantee those hogs were were a heck of a lot tougher on a 150gr bullet than either an elk or a moose would be.

The elk "might have" gone 30 feet from impact of the bullet to impact of the ground. I would hardly say the bullet needed to be stouter. These were the pain ol Federals which were asked about, nothing fancy, simply a 180gr C&C bullet. The only reason 180's were used is, I was out of 150's, and I couldn't find any of them or 165's for less than $40 a box. I'm personally not going to pay that for ammo simply to shoot a deer or similar critter. Don't need them and don't kill them any deader.

 

[Old krow]

All I want to know is; Is Federal Power-Shok, in the many calibers for which it's available, a decent choice?

It's adequate. If you're talk about buying ammo purely as an "investment" then, look at the way ammo has gone up over the past 10 years or so. I think that any ammo that you buy (within reason) would be substantially more valuable 5 or 10 years from than it is today regardless of any biases between brands.

 

[Mike1234567]

Thank you, folks. Indeed, it is a matter of fiscal investment, assurance of availability, trading material, etc. So cost is very important because I'm buying many calibers and more than a few of each. However, I don't want an animal to suffer needlessly so I'm just assuring this ammo will provide quick/humane kills. Apparently, it does pretty well with good shot placement... far better than FMJ.

 

[waffentomas]

The bullet in the Power-Shok loading is just fine for anything on the continent, better for some (deer, bear) than others. The only issue I have is that in the two calibers I own (.308, 7mm mag) I have seen a wider range of velocities through my chronograph, i.e., high standard deviations, for this budget loading from Federal, than I am comfortable with. It's just something to be aware of.

I hand load the vast majority of my ammo, but like to have factory around for my semi-autos, and, well, who can resist a sale...

FYI, the high SDs were not through semis, but through my Weatherby Vanguard .308, and Savage LH110 in 7mm mag.

I'll still buy it, though, when the price is right.

 

[heeler]

It's all I use in my 243's,and .308's.
Very accurate and kills with great efficiency.
I bought over a case of each caliber back when a certain GunBroker seller was selling five boxes shipped for $60.00.
Wished I would have bought even more knowing what the price is today.
It's very good hunting ammo.

 

[Leanwolf]

I've only used the Federal Power Shok in the 170 grains and 150 grains weight in my Marlin 336 .30-30. They are very effective on the Mule deer, whitetail deer, and coyotes I've killed with the .30-30.

As for Rem. Core Lokts, I've never had any problem with them on a couple of bull elk I've killed with my .280 Remington, 165 grains soft point.

My cousin, now deceased, killed 22 elk (17 bulls and 5 cows), with his Winchester pre-64 Featherweight in .308 Win., using the 180 grains Rem. Core Lokt factory ammo. Also killed an idaho Shiras bull moose with the same. One cartridge was all he needed for those kills.

I will say, he always shot very accurately.

Accuracy is the key, 99% of the time, in my opinion.

L.W.

 

[dprice3844444]

check gander mountain and see if they have that saturday buy one box,get the second half off still going on

 

[NYH1]

What do you guys think is better Federal Power Shok, Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester Super X?

 

[interlock]

all are pretty good choices... go with what your rifle shoots best groups with in an appropriatte round and wieght for what you want to kill

 

[exbiologist]

I generally lean toward Winchester Power Points, but I love Speer Hot Core bullets, and would choose those anytime in the Fed Blue Box (that's not the only bullet loaded in that line). Core Lokts are fine and generally shoot accurately, and I have no complaints there either. None of those are truly bad choices for deer.

 

[nathan]

I usually go for Win Power Point , too. But the price of Fed Red Box at Walmart are pretty good. I did try a box of .40 SW on Glock 23 and went flawlessly.

 

[heeler]

NYH1..When I was choosing ammo for my Marlin 336 I grabbed a box of Core-Lokts,Winchester Power Points and the Federal Power Shoks.
Ended up using the Core-Lokts in that rifle as it grouped best with these.
However using the same brands of ammo on two 243's and two 308's I own hands down the Federals grouped the best in these rifles.
One of the 243's with careful shooting using a sand bag rest produced a three shot group that you could cover with a dime (Remington 600 Mohawk)and the other 243(Ithaca LSA-55),again with a steady rest, could fire a 5 shot group into an inch.
Plenty good enough for me.
All three you mentioned are very good it's just finding which shoots best in your particular rifle.

 

[Kachok]

I think power shocks are loaded with different bullets in different calibers, and for different weights, not one set of performance objectivs, so it would be hard to say good or bad. From what I understand in the .30 calibers they use Speer Grand Slams which are a decent performance, mabe a little soft but still get enough penatration for deer. For bigger game the 180gr .30cal Core-lokt is unbeatable for budget ammo. You have to use premium bonded/partitioned or copper bullets to beat that level of expansion/weight retention/penatration.

 

[stillkickin]

have killed several bull elk with 180gr core-lokt shoote well and is readily available at any wally I know of

 

[chains1240]

I switched to Federal Blue box at $14 a box. I get .5MOA from NBT ammo but cannot afford the $38/box price anymore. I get .75-1.5" groups from the Federal. The last deer I shot went about 10 feet before piling up. At least in my .308 they work as well as NBT and Fusions. Dead as dead can get.

 

[Mike1234567]

Thanks for the input, folks. I feel more comfortable that I made the right decision regarding Federal Power-Shok. As I wrote before, cost is a very important factor, but so is ensuring a speedy/humane kill.